Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing
| Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing | |
|---|---|
| Presentation | |
| Hosted by | Mignon Fogarty |
| Publication | |
| Debut | July 30, 2006 |
| Website |
grammar |
Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing is an educational podcast that was launched in July 2006 and the title of a print book that was released in July 2008. The podcast, which has ranked as high as #2 on iTunes,[1] offers short one-topic English grammar lessons at no charge to subscribers hoping to improve their writing skills.
The print book offers advice similar to that found in the podcast and reached number nine on the New York Times best-seller list for paperback advice books.[2]
Host Mignon Fogarty has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Washington and a master's degree in biology from Stanford University.[3]
Listenership
The Grammar Girl podcast had been downloaded over seven million times as of December, 2007.[4] According to a Podtrac survey conducted in October 2006, approximately 50% of listeners are male and 50% of listeners are female. Listeners are encouraged to submit grammar questions by e-mail and voicemail. The majority of episodes are built around these submissions.
Recognition
The podcast has won three awards: the 2007 Podcast Award for Best Education Podcast,[5] the 2007 Podcast Peer Award for Favorite Audio Program, and the 2006 Podcast Peer Award for Best Education Podcast.[6]
The Grammar Girl podcast was the subject of an article in the Wall Street Journal (November 4–5, 2006), recommended by the German newspaper Bild.de (December 1, 2006), profiled on CNN.com (January 23, 2007), and positively reviewed by the Podcasting Tricks website (November 30, 2006).
In their end-of-year review, iTunes staff listed the Grammar Girl podcast as a favorite for 2006. The show was also listed as an iTunes People's Choice podcast for 2006, ranking 29th in number of new subscribers for the year. In 2013, iTunes listed Grammar Girl as one of 12 "Best Classic Podcasts." [7]
Mignon Fogarty appeared on the March 26, 2007 episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show as a grammar expert.[8] She was on the show to answer a viewer question about the use of possessive apostrophes. The viewer thought a previous show should have been titled "Oprah's and Gayle's Big Adventure," but Fogarty confirmed that "Oprah and Gayle's Big Adventure" was a correct use of compound possession. She went on to discuss several other common grammar errors, including "Affect vs. Effect" and "Who vs. Whom."
The Grammar Girl print book reached number nine on the August 17, 2008 New York Times best-seller list for paperback advice books.
References
- ↑ Williams, David E. (January 25, 2007). "'Grammar Girl' a quick and dirty success". CNN.com. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
- ↑ "Best Sellers". August 17, 2008 New York Times. August 17, 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
- ↑ "Say It So". 2008 Stanford Magazine. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
- ↑ "Product Description". Amazon.com, Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
- ↑ "Podcast Awards". Retrieved 2008-07-24.
- ↑ "Featured Speakers". 2008 Illinois Online Conference for Teaching and Learning. Retrieved 2008-07-24.
- ↑ "iTunes and App Store Best of 2013". Retrieved 2013-12-17.
- ↑ "Letter to Oprah". 2007 Oprah Winfrey Show. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
External links
- Startup Studio In depth interview with Mignon Fogarty on the creation of Grammar Girl.